Midi Controller

[awinto10]

Hey guyz, i'm thinking about investing in a midi controller but am not sure what to buy. I'm still paying off a projector so don't want to spend too much!!!!

Is it worth the money as opposed to the mouse and keyboard approach?

Any suggestions???

[therandelman]

check out all the other threads ...
there are a lot of postings regarding the pros and cons of several MIDI controllers!

[Edited on 27-10-2004 by therandelman]

[SuperficiaL]

well to be short, dont buy midi thingz...
its a lot of hardware allready to lug arround, dont buy more... just get a powermate from griffin to do the finetuning (if u need it)... a small keyboard and mouse and youre done (or a laptop).

my oppinion: midi is an outdated standard, and the hardware that sends midi almost always looks outdated to... but hey its configurateable and simple to learn...
(hope im not stepping on some toes now )

but in the end it all depends on what type of vj u are...

greetz, SuperficiaL

[Edited on 28-10-2004 by SuperficiaL]

[Danger]

SuperficiaL: you may have a point there
but in my opnion there are two ways of VJing:

1º the vj that "pre-made" almost everything at home before the gig...this one don't need many finetuning's

2º the vj that is choosing/mixing videos at realtime while the sound speed/type change during the set...this one need a midi controller to get access to all parameters quick..

sorry about my english

[SuperficiaL]

im not a fully "premade" vj at all and i dont like midi still...
im more of a video jugling vj, cut scratch manipulate and such things and i do everything with mouse keyboard and the powermate...
you just have to think ahead and anticipate to the music..

[Danger]

sorry if i transmited the idea that you "premade" vj...

the problem is when you don't know some music and the track cames with a "suprise"

[SuperficiaL]

no offense taken danger

[therandelman]

@ danger:
Well... I don't think, that in case u don't know a track (which will happen most of the time i guess) a MIDI keyboard will help you to react faster or better or more appropriate regarding the music!

You cannot be 100% music matching all the time anyway. otherwise u will have to premade musicvideos for each track the DJ is going to play.

how are you trying to go along with the music? are you trying to cut to the beat? are you adjusting the playbackspeed to the music's bpm? are you trying to match the mood the music evokes? how?


to come back to the topic again, which were MIDI controllers...
Regarding Resolume, I think that a MIDI controller is not an absolute necessity! the interface was designed to be controlled with mouse and keyboard primarily, i believe, so why not use it!
but on the other hand, finetuning all kind of layer parameters (eg. speed, opacity, effects) with a mouse is very hard, not to say impossible.

so if u are into finetuning, i would recommend some kind of controller...
the POWERMATE is indeed very usefull (not MIDI), DOEPFER controllers seem very usefull too. as i posted somewhere before, go for potis and faders! u wont need an expensive studio controller or master keyboard. the use of the piano roll in resolume is minimal, from my poit o view!

i hope, all this gossip is usefull for anyone. if not, forget it.

have a nice day,
the|randelman

[Danger]

how are you trying to go along with the music? are you trying to cut to the beat? are you adjusting the playbackspeed to the music's bpm? are you trying to match the mood the music evokes? how?

it depends of the type of music and the ambient
but during a gig most of the times i pass by all that things (i think)

[Edited on 28-10-2004 by Danger]

[seex]

There are several factors concernig midi that struck my attention after buying my first midi:

size and durability, something big studo type looks cool but it wil only prove that carying that fragile piece is mostly useless for resolume, dopfer is great here, small and tough.

Accuracy of control, You can not adjust parameters by 1 with a mouse, with midi this is real easy and a plesure.

Midi seqencing, you can record a midi seqence and loop it, this can be saved into a midi file and opened agin even if your midi controler is at home. Its not necassary to cary the midi round all the time.

The feeling of tuching something real, beats the mouse on any level, id use midi for after effects and photoshop. Even tough resolumes interface is so intuitive, im working much faster with a midi, i can find what i need without even looking.

Im shure i forgot something, anyway i recomend midi with resolume, it offers so many new options its not a real expense at all. Dopfer is great for its price too.

Oh, i wanted to coment on the two groups of vj-s mentioned here. If a visual performance is totaly prepaired in advance its not a live show anymore but an edited piece of video hence edited. A visual show is more similar to a theater performance or opera than video.